Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Picture painted of the RIH Patient Care Tower COVID-19 outbreak is far from complete

Nov 13, 2020 | 11:13 AM

SOMETHING STINKS to high heaven about the information coming out — and not coming out — concerning the COVID-19 outbreak at the Royal Inland Hospital Patient Care Tower.

What we know officially is that an exposure event was declared early last week, and that was quickly followed by the declaration of an outbreak.

As of early Friday, there were 10 cases confirmed to the public.

The most concerning indicator may be the number of workers who have contacted our newsroom saying the picture being painted by health officials is far from complete.

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All of them, understandably, want to remain anonymous because speaking out could put their employment at risk — and these days, secure employment is pretty important.

These labourers are telling us they don’t believe primary contractor EllisDon has any greater concern than to get the project done on time and is pushing COVID-19 concerns to the back burner.

The workers are telling us that they are scared — scared of both coming in to work and not coming in.

These people are not predisposed to expressing their fears, yet they are expressing them to us.

Information from WorkSafeBC is less than reassuring.

After news of the exposure came out, WorkSafe conducted its inspection of the tower site – but remotely.

The inspection to determine if the site was COVID-19 safe was conducted remotely because of confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 on site.

The inspection concluded that EllisDon did not need to complete any further measures in order to continue the project.

So let’s get this straight: the site is safe for 350-plus contractors and labourers working shoulder-to-shoulder for eight-to-ten hours every day, but not safe enough for an in-person WorkSafeBC inspection.

Interior Health has deferred most questions about the worksite to EllisDon.

That’s the same EllisDon that has not returned multiple phonecalls and messages requesting comments about what’s going on at the site.

It’s more than a little unfortunate that receiving a $400-million-plus government contract does not automatically instill a sense of responsibility and transparency to the B.C. residents who are footing the bill.

It’s time that the provincial government makes transparency a necessity for companies who win multi-million dollar contracts.

That might not decrease the chances of COVID-19 transmission, but it might give workers at the site some peace of mind.

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This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.